Piccilo Rialto was packed with Montreal music cognoscenti, Thursday night, for hometown rock chameleons Ought. Signed to local label Constellation (Godspeed You! Black Emperor), the band has garnered big buzz since the release of its debut, More Than Any Other Day, in April. They started with the sorta title track, Today, More Than Any Other Day, which opened as a lazy blues number before amping up into tuneful post-punk as singer-guitarist Tim beeler tossed off lyrics about grocery shopping and other important stuff. The next song had hints of Talking Heads (circa Once In a Lifetime) mixed with The Ramones. “They sound like an angry Vampire Weekend,” remarked former music scribe Brendan Murphy, always quick with a quip. They were all that and then some – aggressive, tuneful, proficient and adventurous. A band to watch closely.

Ought’s late start meant an early exit as I skipped over to La Sala Rossa to catch Alden Penner. Punctuality is clearly not cool at the moment, for it was 11:35 by the time Penner took the stage for his 11 p.m.-scheduled set. Formerly of Montreal indie acts The Unicorns (who bring their reunion tour to Metropolis, Sunday night) and Clues, he released his solo full-length debut Exegesis, in February. His Sala set showed the breadth of his talent. He started off alone on guitar with a flowery, folk-tinged ballad. Even when joined by his band, shortly after, Penner had trouble shaking the pretty. And why should he? His quivering falsetto is a bewitching instrument. His quirkiness peeked through the more the band got involved, songs swerving with mischievous bounce. Whatever manifestations his projects take, Penner is a pop songsmith first and foremost. That allows him to get away with a lot, much like Ought.

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